Deny Jesus, and You Can Go Shopping at the Mall of America
Black man harassed by mall cops because he wore a "Jesus Saves" shirt. Our religious freedom is sacred and must be protected...for all.
Just when I think I’ve seen it all, something truly shocks and disturbs me at my core. This brief video did just that today:
In this video, a rent-a-cop working for Mall of America ruthlessly harasses a black man in a JESUS SAVES t-shirt, saying:
“Jesus is associated with religion, and it’s offending people.”
So what if it’s offending a few people? That security guard is offending a hell of a lot more himself by his ridiculous attack on this man.
This happened in America, in a shopping mall ironically called “Mall of America.” The Mall of America is located in Bloomington, Minnesota is one the largest malls in the world and the largest mall in the Western hemisphere.
Some on Twitter are trying to justify this ridiculousness, by pointing at the back of the guy’s shirt:
Just because “Coexist” is crossed out, it doesn’t mean this Christian man was advocating for violence. That’s silly. He has a right to his opinion that Jesus is the only way.
Look, I know Christianity is an easy target, and quite a few of my readers may roll their eyes at a Jesus t-shirt. But even if you aren’t Christian, we all need to stand up for the right of religious freedom and expression.
Would it be OK for the mall to ban a Wicca t-shirt? Or one that had a Star of David on it? We can’t let this precedent stand.
I know some will say that the mall is a private company and they can do what they want. Well, technically, no. If they are considered “public accommodations” then they cannot discriminate based on religion by law.
But either way, enabling this behavior sets up a culture where religious people (of any background) may be forced into the closet and told they cannot wear religious t-shirts, crosses, mala beads, hijabs, or other religious paraphernalia in public.
Everyone should be fighting back against this.
People in America have no idea how precious our freedom of speech and religion is. I have friends overseas, some in countries with no free speech. One was just telling me last night that in her Islamic country, people are terrified to speak up against the government because those who do get “disappeared.” And if you so much as share the wrong translation of the Quran, you can get thrown in jail.
Much of the religious oppression in Islamic countries, by the way, is targeted towards moderate and liberal Muslims.
My Sufi Shaykh is from Turkey. When he visits Turkey, he has to keep his identity a secret since organized Sufi groups are illegal in Turkey, even though Sufis are portrayed positively in Turkish TV shows. (Do watch Yunus Emre when you get a chance, it’s amazing!)
In China, Christians must go underground, and Uyghur Muslims are being genocided:
Its country report for China said more than a million Uyghurs and members of mainly Muslim ethnic minority groups had been arbitrarily imprisoned, deprived of their physical liberty, and subjected to forced sterilization, coerced abortions and rape. Beijing's repressive policies in northwest China also included "draconian restrictions on freedom of religion or belief, freedom of expression, and freedom of movement," said the report covering 2021.
The same spirit of evil that is infecting that Mall of America rent-a-cop is the same spirit that allows totalitarian regimes to engage in religious persecution around the world. That same spirit was behind the burning of witches in Salem, behind the repression of Tibetan monks by China, behind the crucifixion of Jesus.
Had that same mall cop been born in Iran, he’d likely be stoning women to death for adultery or throwing gays off of buildings.
He’s not that violent here, because the culture doesn’t enable him to be…yet.
But without something to moderate his inner tyrant, this security guard appears to be the type of petty, vindictive follower of rules who would end up leading people into a gas chamber. Yes. People like him.
(That said, please do not target him personally but contact the Mall of America to complain.)
The sad thing is, these mini-Nazis are enabled by the public. The same people who complained to mall security about the Jesus Saves t-shirt would be the people revealing the hiding places of those running from the Stasi.
By the way, in case you are wondering, the Mall of America does not have a specific rule against religious clothing. Here are the rules, at least what I found on their website today (here is an archive link):
Clothing/Attire
Appropriate attire, including shirts and shoes, must be worn. Inappropriate attire may include, but is not limited to:
Apparel that has obscene language, obscene gestures or racial/religious/ethnic slurs that are likely to create a disturbance
Clothing that deliberately obscures the face, such as hooded tops or masks
Bulletproof vests or simulated bulletproof vests
(Seriously? You can’t wear a covered-up bulletproof vest at a mall that is a mass shooting target? Why on earth…?)
So the mall cop is full of it when he says this shirt is outside of the rules. It’s not. This is his interpretation of the rules.
The cop needs to be fired, first off.
The Mall of America needs to apologize as well.
In response, people have organized a flash mob for February 4, 2023 at the Mall of America. But I’d like to encourage everyone to take part even if you are not a Christian.
It would be nice to see an interfaith response to this…people with “Buddha Saves” t-shirts marching with Christians.
I wonder if Mall of America will make a statement regarding this. I'd sure like to hear one.
An Gott zu glauben ist nicht vernünftig....
Die Welt währe friedlicher ohne Religionen!!!